TMNT Dragon Dynasty 2: Shells and Crowns
by Who am I. Well. I'm just Me
Summary: A year after the events in Genso Ryuu, a weighty choice must be made but whatever the final outcome is, the Queen always loses. Will the arrival of the new Royal Guardians save the kingdom and mend the Royal family's torn bond or will they make things worse? Rated T for language. 2k3-2k7 turtles ONLY! Art by Ashitarimai
1. Chapter 1

**TMNT**

**DRAGON DYNASTY 2: SHELLS AND CROWNS**

Morning in New York City; people came and went through the crowded streets with taxis everywhere and busy men and women that were getting late to work because of the traffic. Yes, it was nothing but a normal morning in the Big Apple and things below the city were just as normal too.

The resident genius of the Hamato household turned on his computer and plugged a USB unit in it or at least that's how it looked on the outside. Donatello still laughed at himself and the surprised look on his face when he discovered his little gift was nothing like a common USB unit but it was actually a virtual gateway to her world.

He had spent weeks in his lab going through different websites learning the dragons' history and way of living and chatting with his new friend.

The program finished loading and, in a matter of seconds, another face appeared in the screen: it was Princess Dayannara on yet another video chat session. Ever since they last saw each other a year ago in Genso Ryuu, Don and Dana talked almost daily using the "dragon modem" as he liked to call the device, to contact her.

"_Hi Donatello! Sorry I couldn't log in last night. How are you?"_

"I'm fine, can't really complain. And about last night, don't worry. I know you've been busy lately with the ceremony. Things have been pretty quiet here in the city so there's not much to do."

Dana sighed. _"Wish I'd be in your place. I'm dead tired but I can't believe the ceremony is tomorrow! Are you excited? Nervous?"_

"A bit of both. I mean, it's not every day you get to be proclaimed Royal Guardian" Don chuckled. "How's Leena, by the way?"

"_Busier than anyone else though a little bit absentminded which is weird because-"_

"Hey Dana!" Mikey joined the conversation, pushing Don away. The latter landed painfully on his tail.

"Mikey! That was very rude and unnecessary!" Don said angrily rubbing his behind.

Dana laughed quietly._ "Hi Michelangelo!"_

"_Is Mikey there? I want to say hi! Please!"_ The new voice made Dana turn around and roll eyes when she saw who it was.

"_Alright… Miley wants to talk to you, Michelangelo"_ Dana said.

"_MIIIIKEY! MIKEY, MIKEY, MIKEY, MIKEY!"_ Miley said cheerfully after pushing her older twin off the chair.

"MIIIILEY! How's my favorite dragon?" Mikey chuckled.

"_Totally great and missing you as always. I can't wait for the ceremony! And I can't wait for you to come here; there are so many things I have to tell you! Oh, oh! You have to come with me to my favorite arcade!"_

"Same here! I have some new cool moves on the skateboard I wanna show you and tons of new recipes I found on the internet you MUST try out!"

"_Awesome! Whoops!"_ A golden dog appeared in the screen and licked it. _"Hehe, Kirk says hi too" _

"_Miley, I've told you millions of times: keep your dog away from my laptop!"_ Dana said angrily.

Then, Kirk jumped into the light green skinned dragon's arms and began to lick her causing Miley and Mikey to break into a laughing fit.

Dana huffed and came close to the web cam now her sister was distracted. _"Seems like they won't let us talk" _

"Not if I can fix that…" Don said with a wink. He barely noticed Dana's reddening face before turning his attention to his youngest brother.

"Uh, Mikey? Raph got the password to your game's hardest level and he's gonna play it way before you do it~" The genius said in a sing song voice.

"WHAT?! No way in shell he's gonna do that! Talk to you later Miley!" After this, Mikey rushed out of the lab.

"_B-but Mikey… I…"_

"_Now Miley, take your dog and let me speak to Don. Please"_ Dana said. Miley sighed and left her sister's room with Kirk in her arms.

"Is she ok?" Don asked.

"_Well, I'm not sure. She's been talking about Mikey all the time and how awesome would be to finally have a long chat with him like we do" _Dana said, brushing her hair back with her fingers.

"Doesn't she have her own laptop?"

Dana nodded. _"She does but… let's just say when she's very excited, she tends to forget she has to control her strength"_

Don arched a brow. "And that's bad because?"

From under her desk, Dana pulled out what it appeared to be a laptop and opened it to show a few keys falling off the keyboard._ "_This _was her new laptop N° 136. She got too excited and she smashed the keyboard keys while she was typing" _

The genius gulped. "I'd really hate to be that keyboard"

"_So anyway, Leena said that was _enough _and forbade Miley to buy or use any kind of computer without supervision"_ Dana explained._ "Since I've been busy like I told you before, I haven't been able to be here and supervise Miley while she's talking to your brother"_

"And I made Mikey leave her just like that" Don sighed heavily in realization. "I'm such a jerk"

"_It's not your fault, Donatello. Besides, they will see each other tomorrow! I'm pretty sure they can wait"_

Again, she called him by his full name.

That was odd considering last time, when the royal sisters were on Earth, they called each other by their shortened names. The full naming had started a year ago while they chatted; at first, the resident genius let it slip but now this regal treatment intrigued him.

"Dana… why do you keep calling me by my full name?" He asked.

The princess seemed a bit taken aback by the ninja's question but quickly composed herself. _"Oh well… after the ceremony you will be officially my _Guardian_. It is tradition the prince/princess or king/queen refers to his/her Guardian by his/her full name and vice versa"_

"I respect your traditions and all, Princess. But you know you can call me Don or Donnie when we're off duty, right?"

Dana smiled softly. _"Right. Sorry, perhaps the ceremony has me all tense"_

"And you won't be the one standing in front of a crowd. Imagine how _I'll_ feel!" Don replied. The ninja's shell-cell's alarm went off; it was time to say bye.

"Uh oh, I'm getting late for training!" Don said after checking his phone "See you tomorrow! Say hi to the others for me, ok?"

"_Say hi to your brothers for me. Oh and don't forget to mention your family what Althor told you. Bye, Donat-"_ Dana stopped to correct herself. _"-Donnie" _

Don smiled and turned off his computer; then he grabbed his bo and ran to the dojo where his brothers and Sensei awaited.

"Lookie who finally decided to come out the lab" Raph mocked.

"Donatello, your brothers and I have been waiting" Splinter reprimanded him.

"I know. I'm sorry, Sensei. Dana was just-"

"Dana, Dana, Dana~ Why's that the only thing you talk about lately is your lady princess friend, genius?"

"What I was going to say before Raph rudely interrupted me-" Don started, glaring daggers at his brother. "-was that she just reminding me the ceremony is tomorrow"

"Whoa, for real?!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Did you guys forget all about it already? I've been pestering you with the same thing for weeks now!"

"I guess it kinda slipped my mind" Leo admitted.

Splinter cleared his throat. "My sons, we shall continue this conversation after your training session. Now, Leonardo will pair off with Donatello and Raphael with Michelangelo"

The four brothers groaned. It was going to be one of _those_ training sessions.

Again.

…

* * *

Hours later and after a well detailed explanation of the slight change of plans, the Hamato brothers prepared themselves for their trip to the dragon dimension.

It wouldn't be a long excruciating journey; in fact, they didn't need to travel right away but for orders of Lee-Onara's right hand: Althor, the soon-to-be Guardians had to be in dragon's territory one day prior the ceremony.

Donatello wished to start his new royal duties with the right foot so he wasn't one to question the Queen's counselor's decisions. And so he managed to convince his brothers and father to spend the night at Lee-Onara's castle.

He was glad his family was being reasonable about this, even Raphael, but perhaps the idea of sleeping in a big suite of a real castle was the real reason why Raph hadn't argued.

Either way, Don couldn't be happier with the outcome.

"Did you pack everything, Mikey?"

"Sure did! Shoes, bow ties, tuxedos and some weird cologne I borrowed from Casey" Mikey informed. "So, how do you think the girls are doing? I mean, tomorrow will be a big day for them too"

"I'm sure they can handle a big crowd, chucklehead" Raph said, packing his extra mask in his bag once he managed to snatch it from Klunk who had been playing with it.

"By the way, do you think Leena will be waiting for us?" Leo asked.

"Dana didn't say but I suppose so" Don said. "After all, Leena _will_ be the one hosting the ceremony"

"Hey genius, how come we haven't known anything about her, anyway? Even Raven has showed up her face on the webcam every now and then" Raph commented.

Don sighed. "I don't know, really. Not even her sisters know but it seems that they're having family issues again"

Mikey snorted. "And I thought Leo and Raph were bad enough"

This commentary earned Mikey a slap on the back of his head from a not amused Leonardo.

"Hey!" The youngest protested.

"Boys, let us leave now" Splinter called.

The young turtles hurried to their father's side. After the ritual of the symbols and the chant, the portal to Genso Ryuu opened and the ninja family disappeared inside it.

Two seconds later, another portal opened, this time in the dragon dimension, and the four terrapins with their Sensei came out of it.

Their arrival, however, had not been as quiet and calm as they were expecting.

The central plaza was crowded by dragons of all kind who praised the newcomers as if they were royalty, placing all kinds of offerings at their feet, playing traditional music and waving the kingdom's flag vigorously. The dragons cheered for the four astonished ninja turtles; some young female earth dragons used their powers to create the most beautiful and fragrant flower collars and place them around the ninjas' necks.

"Uh… what exactly is going on here?" Leo finally asked to no one in particular. "These people went nuts or what"

"Guys, I think the commotion is all because of… us" Don commented.

"Right you are, Donatello"

The crowd stopped their celebration and bowed down the new figure that joined the scenario: Jada, the Oracle.

"Welcome back to our dimension, Earthlings. I truly hope the welcoming reception has been of your liking"

"It was quite, uh… overwhelming" Leo said.

"That is great to know" Jada smiled. "Please, come with me. I shall take you to your chambers now"

"Aww, but I wanted more praising!" Mikey said pitifully.

"I'll give you more than just praising if you don't move your ass right now!" Raph growled holding his fist up.

"Raphael! Manners!" Splinter scolded him.

"Please, let the servants carry your luggage, my friends" Jada suggested.

"No, that's ok. We didn't bring much anyway" Don replied.

"I must insist on this, Donatello. Besides, I have direct orders from the Queen herself that will be treated like royalty from now on"

"Well, we sure don't wanna make Leena mad" Mikey commented and threw his bags behind where the servants waited patiently.

"Speaking of Leena, why is she not here?" Leo asked as he and his family followed Jada away from the crowd.

"Yeah, I thought this whole welcoming party thingy was her doing" Raph added.

"Leena's doing? _Please_, Miley is more likely to throw a party. Leena is most likely to give away rule books" Mikey joked. "No offense"

Jada chuckled. "I agree with you, Michelangelo; our Queen _needs_ to relax every now and then"

"I assume the Queen must be attending some matters of state right now, young lady?" Splinter asked.

"Yes, quite. Although, she has not said what exactly" Jada commented. "And lately, Althor has never left her side"

"And that's a bad thing because?" Mikey asked curiously.

The pink haired dragon sighed. "I wish I could answer that, my friend"

"Of course you can!" The young ninja replied. "Just use your future vision thingy and boom! The secret will be no more!"

"It is not so simple, Michelangelo. My powers have no effect when there is no future to predict; whatever the Queen is working on can not be seen in the future because is already happening and I certainly have no power over the present"

"Jada, could I have an audience with the Queen? Maybe she'll be less secretive with _her_ Guardian" Leo demanded politely.

"I'm afraid the Queen will not be able to speak with any of you until tomorrow at the ceremony" Jada informed. "Right now, she is in a conference with The Elders and the kingdom's Council"

"Aw crap" Mikey moaned. "We're supposed to be her new Guardians and stuff, why's that she won't talk to us?"

"Technically, you ain't our Guardians yet"

The ninjas and Jada turned their heads to the entrance of the west tower where Raven stood. The fire dragon Princess was dressed up in her training red shorts and red strapless top; her hair had been cut very short and redder than usual with some black strands, leaning casually against one of the walls while playing with a fireball.

"Took you guys long enough" She said gruffly, squeezing the fireball until a little red ember was left. "I was starting to think you got eaten by the crowd"

Raph snorted. "As if! So, how's it going _sweetums_?"

"How d'ya think is going, _honey_?" She smirked. "By the way, missed your ugly face"

"Missed your tomboyish haircut" Raph countered with a chuckle.

"Those two have a weird way to communicate with each other" Don muttered while Mikey nodded in agreement.

Jada approached Raven, bowing her head. "Your Highness, I was about to-"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Cut the crap, Jada. You know when we're indoors you can leave the formalities behind"

The latter smiled. "Sorry, it _is_ a really annoying habit. Isn't it?"

Raven turned to the Hamatos. "You guys must be tired. C'mon in"

The team followed the red haired dragon inside the marble tower.

As they stepped inside, their minds were blown away by the breathtaking sight before them; the walls had crystals and gemstones forming intricate patterns, the floor was so well polished the ninjas could see their own reflections in it, the garden outside was full of flowers of different colors and species with a small lake in the middle.

The Hamatos couldn't find the right words to describe the beauty of the scenery; they looked around, mouths hanging and eyes wide opened as they walked through the corridors.

Raven and Jada looked at them and smiled to themselves.

"If they think this is cool, they're in for a big surprise when they see their bedrooms" Jada whispered.

Raven sighed contently. "New comers can be so easily impressed. Say Jada, was this the same way you and your bro reacted when you were chosen Guardians and came to live here?"

"I think Jaden reacted that way. _I_ remember bouncing and running all over the place while screaming and I almost broke an antique or two" Jada laughed.

Raven chuckled. "Yeah, hopefully these guys will have more self control"

From the end of the corridor, Leonardo's voice could be heard while he reprimanded Michelangelo.

"_Careful with that vase, Mikey! We don't know how ancient it is!"_

"_Sorry Leo!"_

The fire dragon blinked. "Ok, maybe not"

"I think the tour will have to wait till tomorrow morning. You should go to your chambers now" Jada smiled nervously.

"Alright guys, last one in bed has a rotten shell!" Mikey yelled before sprinting wildly to his room while being followed by his brothers.

Splinter could only watch and sigh. "My apologies, Your Highness. My sons do not usually behave that way"

"Hey, it's cool. At least _they_ know how to chill. Maybe they could teach Miss _Uptight _a thing or two about that" Raven said bitterly.

Splinter eyed at the red haired dragon in puzzlement but before he could say something, Raven began to walk away. Although the ninja master had noticed Raven's volatile behavior during the time she and her sisters stayed in the lair last year, he was certainly not expecting to see so much anger in her aura.

The other young dragon's aura wasn't better either; Jada's aura was a mix of secrecy and fear.

She knew something.

She had to; after all, she wasn't called_ Oracle_ for nothing.

As he walked to his chambers, Splinter's mind flooded with questions: What was Jada hiding and why? Why Raven was so angry at his eldest sister, Queen Lee-Onara?

And most importantly: _where_ was Queen Lee-Onara?

…

* * *

"Your Majesty, with all due respect… you must stop being so stubborn and try to understand"

Leena sighed in frustration and boredom; this conference was taking them nowhere. Truth to be told, this conference wasn't necessary at all but Althor had been insisting so badly for months and now that she had agreed, she regretted it.

Marriage, that seemed to be the trend topic of the counsel ever since Aldarnius aka Arkaam in disguise pointed it out last year. Leena couldn't help but think even in death Arkaam was still trying to ruin her life. To make things worse, the Seven Elders: Yasir, Khon, Daleg, Omid, Harbin, Siddel and Zechariah were not very fond of the young monarch and that made things even more complicated.

Luckily Althor, Leena's loyal right hand, former Guardian and personal counselor was there beside her otherwise she would've explode hours ago.

"What's there to understand? I am King Ryoga's daughter, first born of my clan! I've been ruling Genso Ryuu since I was a kid, _alone_. You can't take that away from me just because I'm not married yet!" Leena replied angrily.

"Young one, King Ryoga was well aware that this day would come and agreed that when time came and he wasn't here, we would make sure you carried on with traditions" Yasir said.

"I _know_ the kingdom's traditions; I've studied them since I was five years old, thanks for the reminder. And I also know my father could have never agreed to give away his child to a stranger!"

"This is no stranger, Your Highness! You knew him before your parents' misfortunate demise" Siddel said.

Leena looked at him in puzzlement. "What do you mean?"

"Alister, Lord of the South Region" Said Khon. "While you were still children, your father and his father were discussing whether you should be wed or not"

"If my father was alive and he knew what Lord Fergus did to my kingdom, he would've never let me marry his son. Have you already forgotten many lives were lost all because _Mister Almighty_ felt too powerful to be ruled by a little girl?" Leena pointed out.

"As we all recall, the South Region never agreed to King Ryoga's last decision. It was that what caused war in the first place" Daleg replied.

Leena let out a bitter chuckle. "Oh so now I'm guilty for my father's death and his decisions"

"Of course not, my Queen!" Omid exclaimed.

"Queen Lee-Onara, be reasonable" Zechariah interfered. "Everyone in the kingdom has been waiting for this day to come; if you do not marry Lord Alister, not only you'd be going against tradition but you also risk the peace treaty to be nullified!"

"Also, if you refuse, your successor would have to take both your crown and the wedding duties. And by successor, I am talking about your sisters" Yasir added.

Althor noticed the twinge of malice in Yasir's statement and frowned. "Is that a threat I hear, Counselor Yasir?"

"We could never do such thing!" Harbin replied, trying to pacify things. "But traditions are traditions; King Ryoga would have told his daughter the same thing"

"Look on the bright side, You Highness; by marrying Lord Alister, we'd be solving both problems at the same time: Follow traditions and protect your subjects by maintaining the peace treaty" Khon said casually.

"What do you say, your Majesty?" Omid asked. "I think that would be a most wise decision"

"Well I think this is pure_ bullshit_!" Leena yelled angrily before storming off the room.

Angered by the girl's outburst, Yasir left his spot in the golden table and attempted to follow Leena. "Your Highness, come back here! You cannot-!"

"-Let her go, wise one" Althor stopped him. "I'll talk to her once she calms down"

Yasir gave him a mild glare. "You better do, Althor. We do not have much time"

Right after that, the Seven Elders abandoned the room followed by the rest of the counsel. The grey haired dragon sighed heavily; so much had happened to the Queen in a year and with the ceremony tomorrow, he knew she would collapse.

Hopefully things wouldn't come to that anytime soon.

The guardian raised his head to glance at one of the dark corners of the room. "I hope you've remained silent, Oracle"

From the shadows, Jada emerged looking worried and fearful. "Believe me it was harder than I thought… specially with Master Splinter's eyes on me all the time"

"He suspects something" Althor said thoughtfully. "You were right about him after all; he's not a common Earthling"

"Althor, please. We must tell them" Jada said pleadingly. "The Elders will only drive the Queen to her doom!"

"I could tell them but that is not how your vision goes… is it?"

The pink haired dragon sighed. "I'm not sure about my visions anymore"

Althor approached her and tilted her face up to gaze into her green eyes. "This is about Riven again"

Jada tilted her head to the side and smiled sadly. "You know me too well"

The bigger dragon pulled the smaller one into a fatherly embrace.

"My child, you know what happens when your emotions clash with your visions and this is not the time for any of that; the destinies of both the Royal Family and the Guardians are in your hands"

"I know" Jada sighed. "Why couldn't my brother be the Oracle, this is too stressful!"

Althor chuckled. "He would have to be a girl then"

Jada laughed wholeheartedly. "Imagine that"

Althor smiled and freed Jada from his strong arms. "Now, now young lady… we should get some rest. Tomorrow will be a big day"

With that said, both dragons walked to their chambers oblivious of the third presence spying on their every move.

…

…

* * *

What… the buck… am I doing?!

I should be finishing all my other stories but no! Here I am writing another one instead.

Oh well…

**TM****NT Dragon Dynasty**'s got a sequel… and this is it! It's turtles and dragons again, bros!

After my first attempt working with OCs, I decided it was time to bring things up a notch. A lot of things will be explained in here; there will be more allies, more enemies, more political issues, more ninjutsu and of course… more turtle-awesomeness!

To understand what the heck is going on here, newbies and oldies, you should probably read:

**My OC's Bios**

**TMNT Dragon Dynasty**

IN. THAT. ORDER!

Again, Nick turtles are a big fat NO-NO in my stories. Only 2k3 / 2k7 turtles, please.

Hope you enjoy it and **HAPPY 3RD FFNET ANNIVERSARY TO ME!**

YAY!


	2. Chapter 2

It was expected that at past midnight only the guards were awake checking for any disturbance in the perimeter while the staff and the royal family slept but that rule didn't apply to the room at the top floor of the north tower. Loud music, laughter and cries of delight came out from the large window, all courtesy of a very hyperactive Michelangelo since the very moment he entered the room earlier in the afternoon.

The four brothers had multiple room options but they decided to share a considerably big room while Splinter got an equally spacious room for himself, free from noisy teens.

"Mikey, the volume is too high! Turn it down or I'll turn off the TV!" Don reprimanded his brother. "And will you stop jumping on the bed?! You're going to fall out, break your neck and when _that_ happens I don't want you to come crying, understood?"

"Lighten up, dude! It's not every day you get to enjoy a bed as soft and bouncy as _this_ one" Mikey replied and jumped one more time before landing on his back.

"Don, can we stay here for like… forever?"

"I think that's up to Leena to decide. Though as her new Guardians, I have a feeling we'll be around here quite a lot"

"Sweet! Hey, do you know by a chance if they have cable here?"

"Sure, try channel D45"

Mikey arched a brow. "D45? You're kidding me, right? That's not even a channel"

"Just try it; you might like what you'll see" Don said encouragingly.

"Uhhh~ You've been watching naughty stuff, huh?"

"…I am definitely _not_ going to dignify that with a reply, Mikey"

"Uh, didn't you just do that right now?"

The genius turtle sighed in defeat while his youngest brother located said channel.

"A_WESOME_! THEY HAVE ADVENTURE TIME HERE TOO!" Mikey beamed.

"Not really. Since I knew you'd be too hyper to go to bed, I thought I should try out the codes Danna gave me to allow us to watch regular, boring earthling TV and well, looks like it worked"

Mikey threw himself at his brother giving him a rib crushing hug. "Did I ever tell you how incredible you are?"

"Only a few thousand times but keep saying it" Don chuckled. "Now get off me, you're sweaty and your skin is sticky. Ugh!"

"It's not my fault Raph won't come out of the bathroom!" Mikey replied. "YO, RAPHIE! DID YOU DIE OR SOMETHING? COME OUT ALREADY!"

The final words hadn't left the young turtle's mouth yet when the bathroom's door opened letting out some steam and a smiley, drowsy looking Raphael.

"Well, someone looks relaxed" Don commented suppressing a chuckle after seeing the stupid grin on Raph's face.

"Relaxed is a statement. I feel like I died and went to heaven" Raph replied, stretching his arms lazily while looking at his older sibling direction. "Hey Leo, you should give it a go too! Seriously, that shit is better than shiatsu"

Mikey's blue eyes widened. "WHAT! Oh nonono! It's MY turn now, Raphie-boy!"

"Wrong. First it was Donnie's turn, then you, me and then Leo. You missed your chance by jumping on beds and eating the whole freaking fridge so now you suck it up"

"Leoooo! Tell Raphie that's not true!"

"Hmm? Yeah… the room's fine, I guess" Leo said not really paying attention to his brothers.

The blue-clad ninja leaned over the balcony in utter silence, his chin resting on one hand while the other dangled free; he looked outside as if waiting for something to happen or for someone to show up, a thoughtful expression on his face the whole time.

"What's up with him now?" Raph asked.

"I'm not sure, he's been awfully quiet ever since we got here" Don said.

"Leave him alone, guys. Maybe it's just jet lag" Mikey said, turning off the TV.

"We came here through a portal, Mikey"

"Portal-lag then, genius!"

The red-clad ninja glanced at his preoccupied brother, pointedly ignoring Don and Mikey; unlike his two clueless brothers, he had an idea of what was troubling Leo's mind and that made the volatile turtle want to slap him so hard his head would fall off but if that brought him back to reality then so be it.

On the other hand, Raph knew that whatever he did wouldn't change Leonardo's nature; he was born to worry about others and to help them in any way he could, something the sai wielder only did with his close friends and family.

The sai wielder heard Leo sigh heavily.

Try as he might, he couldn't ignore the fact that his brother needed someone to talk to right now, someone who would _force_ him to talk.

And that was always Raph's cue.

The sai wielder groaned, he didn't enjoy playing psychologist but right now he didn't have much of a choice.

"Imma talk to Fearless"

Mikey chuckled halfheartedly. "Good luck with that, Raphie-boy"

"Yeah, we already tried and failed" Don seconded.

"That's because you're lame and you're an egghead" Raph mocked his brothers, poking their foreheads playfully. "And in case you didn't notice, bathroom's free now"

Don and Mikey glanced at the bathroom door then at each other.

"It's mine!"

"NO WAY, DON! IT'S MY TURN!"

While the youngest and the resident genius pushed each other to win a turn in the giant bathtub, Raphael approached his blue-clad brother stealthily; it wasn't often he caught his brother off guard so might as well take this opportunity to give him the scare of his life. Hands up, fingers wiggling and a mischievous grin that would make Mikey proud, the red-clad ninja tiptoed his way towards Leonardo.

Just a couple of inches away from the leader's shell, Raph stopped and took a deep breath, preparing himself to scream.

Leonardo sighed loudly and without turning around, brought his free hand up to cover his brother's mouth. "Don't even think about it"

A surprised Raphael backed away. "How did you-"

"-you need to work on your stealth. Lucky for your, Splinter wasn't watching"

The sai wielder did his best to ignore his brother's somehow cocky reprimand, there would be time to get him back during a training session but for now…

"So, you ok? Nervous for tomorrow's ceremony?"

Leo shook his head. "Not really. Believe it or not, I'm actually looking forward to it"

"You're worried about Leena, then"

Leo stiffened for a moment, turning his gaze to his brother with a shy smile. "Is_ that_ obvious, huh?"

"Not my fault you're as readable as a children's book sometimes, Fearless"

"Hey, that's not true!"

"Whatever! Just start talking before I kick the words out of you" Raph replied, adopting his brother's same relaxed position.

Sighing, the blue-clad turtle backed away from the balcony and began to pace from left to right while talking.

"I thought Leena had learned that being secretive would only lead her to trouble but apparently she's back to keeping important information from her sisters and that's separating them further. I mean, did you notice the way Raven talked about her older sister?"

"Boy, was she _pissed_" Raph cackled. "But that ain't our business, bro. You should chill and enjoy this place while we're still here"

Leo sighed in frustration. "I know. I've tried to shrug this off but I just can't! I need to-"

"- there you go again trying to be everyone's savior" Raph interrupted him. "Dammit Leo, you know that'll get you killed someday and last time I checked you weren't Jesus"

The sword wielder smiled at the weird statement but in the back of his mind he knew where Raphael was getting at. The queen and her sisters weren't his family and he could be barely consider them friends- no, long distance video conferences didn't count as "friend time" to Leonardo- so why was he worrying so much about them?

About Leena's welfare, more specifically.

Was this how Guardians behaved, always worrying about their protégées?

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go ahead" Raph said nodding his head towards the balcony.

Leo stared at him in puzzlement. "I thought you said I had to chill"

"I know you better than I know myself, bro. You need to go get your answers before you go bat-shit crazy"

"But I don't even know where Leena is and this place is huge!"

"You're a ninja, for Pete's sake! Think of this as one of our missions: find the Queen, get some Intel and get back here. Easy as pie"

The sword wielder analyzed Raph's plan, it wasn't bad at all but when he found the Queen… _then_ what. Would she tell him what was happening? And if she did, would she be honest with him?

Well, there was only one way to find out.

Leo hoisted himself up to stand on the balcony's railing. "Alright, wish me luck"

Raph gave him thumbs up. "Go get her, tiger"

Leo smiled back and disappeared from Raph's sight with a back flip. The sai wielder followed Leo's fall with his eyes until he lost his trail in the dark of the night. Raphael knew he would regret not stopping Leo from getting his nose into the royal sisters' business tonight; that his actions would be either welcomed or create great chaos eventually.

But he also knew in the end they would find a way to get themselves and everybody else out of this mess.

They always did.

"Hope y'know what you're doing, bro" He said after giving one last glance to the city below him.

Then, the sai wielder returned to the room and threw himself in bed, quickly surrendering to sleep despite Don's victory off-key version of _"We are the Champions" _coming from the bathroom and Mikey's childish whining outside the same.

…

* * *

Leena pulled aside the shower curtain and stepped outside quickly toweling herself; her reunion with the council had left her with a splitting headache and since pills weren't doing any good, a warm shower became the second option.

She sat on her bed beside her chosen clothes and began to dry off her apple green skin, flicking her wings a couple of times to get rid of the small residual drops; then, she dressed herself with the long deep blue silky robe she had picked previously and combed her long dark hair.

All this she did it while replaying the conversation with the council members over and over in her mind.

Try as she might, Leena couldn't forget all that nonsense and focus on the next day's ceremony instead. She could still see Counselor Yasir's arrogant smile as he threatened her to make Raven the new queen and force _her _to marry someone she'd never seen in her life.

'_Who does he think he is to boss me around?' _Leena thought. _'I'm the _Queen_, for Kinryu's sake!'_

Growling, Leena threw her comb on the carpeted floor. She needed to get out and get some fresh air immediately or she would explode.

Grabbing her swords, the young queen stormed out of the room making her way to her favorite part of the castle: her mother's garden.

"Perhaps I'll find some peace in there"

As she walked through the moon lit path, Leena continued hearing the Counsels' voices in her head; she quickened her pace but the voices wouldn't leave and it would appear that they only got louder with each step.

She ran…

"_Your Majesty, stop being so stubborn and try to understand… if you do not marry Lord Alister, not only you'd be going against tradition but you also risk the peace treaty to be nullified!"_

… and ran…

_"Also, if you refuse, your successor would have to take both your crown and the wedding duties. And by successor, I am talking about your sisters…"_

… and ran.

_"…Look on the bright side, You Highness; by marrying Lord Alister, we'd be solving both problems at the same time: Follow traditions and protect your subjects by maintaining the peace treaty…"_

But no matter how hard she tried, she could not escape the voices.

Leena's knees gave up and she fell on them near the clear lake that reflected her tired features. Suddenly her reflection morphed into a younger version of herself, standing behind a big podium as she read some lines of an ancient, thick brown book out loud before the Council, the Seven Elders and her private tutors as part of her training before her official coronation the following day.

"_A king's principal duty is to look for his kingdom's safety and welfare. His kingdom is his only priority. He must honor his ancestors by following and respecting traditions; if he cannot do that then he is not worthy of the crown he wears nor of the kingdom he rules"_

She was merely a child but even at the age of nine years old, she understood the importance of that paragraph. Since then, Leena's top priority was her kingdom; she had protected it with her own life at the age of twelve when war threatened its destruction. She had put what was left of her family behind and with them her happiness and childhood in order to be the Queen her parents and her kingdom and expected her to be.

She knew traditions better than the back of her hand and she had followed every single one of them in order to honor her ancestors.

But she couldn't do it this time.

A marriage without love, a marriage without contentment… she could not conceive the idea of this happening to her or her sisters.

"…_if he cannot do that then he is not worthy of the crown he wears nor of the kingdom he rules…"_

Leena knew she was worthy.

She had proven everyone wrong when they said a child could not rule over an empire but now… what would her enemies say if they knew she refused this marriage?

She wanted to cry, scream, she wanted to fly away and leave the castle, hide and never come back. However, tears wouldn't come out, words wouldn't leave her mouth, her wings wouldn't move and she would certainly not leave her life at the castle behind.

This was who she was and she couldn't escape from that.

The young monarch heard a soft _thump _that made her pointy ears twitch; glancing behind her, she saw a dark figure jumping from tower to tower. Curious but cautious, Leena followed the mysterious jumper until it finally landed a few inches away from the lake she sat by.

Wielding her weapon, she approached the strange visitor. "Who goes there? Show yourself!"

"Leena?"

The queen lowered her sword at the sound of the familiar voice. "Leonardo?"

The blue-clad ninja stepped out of the shadows and walked towards the dragon girl. "Wow, and I thought finding you was going to be an issue"

"Leonardo, what are you doing here? You should be in your room with your brothers"

"I guess I could tell you the same thing" The turtle said with a smirk. "I don't think wandering around this late at night is something royalty would do, is it?"

For a split second, Leena thought she had heard one of her counselors by the slightly smug tone Leonardo had used to talk to her.

"I'd choose my words carefully if I were you. You are talking to your Queen" She growled, her dark eyes changing into dark slits with blue around them.

Leo's smile dropped. "Funny, I thought she was also my friend. I wonder if that was just another lie"

The ninja's words felt like a slap to the young monarch whose eyes changed back to normal.

"Please, forgive me" She said. "I… haven't been in my best behavior lately"

"You _do_ look stressed, Your Majesty" Leo pointed in approaching the dragon girl more confidently.

"Please call me Leena, you know I hate formalities"

"Same goes for you. What's up with the whole name thing and the royal treatment?" Leo asked.

"Well, you_ are _royalty now" Leena smiled. "Or at least you'll be after the ceremony tomorrow morning"

"Organizing something as important as that must be exhausting, I bet"

The queen sighed. "You have no idea"

"But that's not the only thing that has you over the edge, now is it?" Leo inquired.

Leena tensed up at the ninja's almost accusatory tone. She was aware that nothing went past the blue-clad turtle but had she known he would confront her immediately, she wouldn't have left her room until the ceremony.

Trying to keep a stoic expression, she replied. "I have no idea what you're talking about"

Leo's brow arched. "With all due respect, that's the best excuse you could come up with?"

The dragon girl felt her posture crumbling, which was strange considering no one could intimidate her in all her years of being Queen.

"I'll just let you know that things around here have been tough" She said, clearing her throat. "Arkaam's death only brought me more problems than I expected; hopefully, a solution will be found and I will no longer have to deal with the Council and my migraines"

"And what's going on that's so bad you can't tell me or your family?"

"The kingdom's problems are the queen's problems" Leena said curtly. "The princesses have enough responsibilities as it is; they do not need more when they have _me _in charge"

Leo let out a forced chuckle. "Princesses? Really?! Is that how you call your sisters now?!"

"It's their rightful title" The queen shot back sounding irritated. "And I don't know about you but this conversation is getting us nowhere. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to my bedroom and I suggest you to do the same"

The blue-clad ninja was perplexed by Leena's behavior; she was obviously hiding something but he didn't expect this conversation to end so abruptly given the fact that he was talking to a level-headed leader like himself. He would expect this reaction if it was coming from a coffee deprived Donatello, a sleepy Michelangelo or in a mild discussion with Raphael but not from Leena.

He found himself petrified in the spot as he watched the dragon girl leave hurrying her steps, like escaping from an enemy. Leonardo thought of going after her but she could easily fly away to avoid any further confrontation so that option was quickly discarded.

The queen had almost reached the leafy green tunnel when Leo's voice was heard again.

"Leena, wait!"

As if on autopilot, the young monarch halted her steps. "What is it?" She asked.

The sound of steps on the grass approaching her gave the Queen goosebumps. Although her brain screamed at her to move, her legs felt like concrete and would not move for some strange reason.

The steps stopped.

Leo's shadow loomed over Leena; a hand on her shoulder made her flinch, something that didn't go unnoticed by the ninja and it took all of Leena's willpower to not turn around and face him.

"I have no idea what's exactly bothering you and it's clear that you won't tell me…" Leo said "…but know this: you can count on me, not only as a Guardian but as your friend as well. Have a good night"

With that said, the sword wielder turned around and walked away giving the dragon girl her space and time to let his words sink in. Just as Leo walked towards the opposite exit, Leena turned around and called out to him.

"Leo, I…"

The latter turned his head to give the Queen a sideway glance. "Yeah?"

"…Thank you" She said, the corner of her mouth quirking up.

Leonardo returned the smile before both teenagers parted ways. Perhaps his words hadn't fallen in deaf ears after all.

* * *

…

…

Wheee~ I'm updating stuff!

Oh and Kitten Ninja, Ninja Kitten, whatever the hell your name is? I ain't going nowhere.

You mad?


End file.
